Admiration
by Duchess Winna
Summary: Before he dies, Regulus goes to visit Andromeda. Oneshot, not Blackcest.


**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns these characters; I do not.**

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Ted and Nymphadora are asleep, but Andromeda is awake, feeling very pensive. This night really has no significance, but she finds herself thinking about her family even more than she usually does.

Despite these thoughts about them, she's utterly surprised when she hears a noise, peers out the window and sees her cousin heading towards her home, walking extremely slowly. He knows where her house is, approximately, and fails to see it.

Without thinking, she opens the door and mutters an enchantment under her breath. He suddenly sees the house, her charm working perfectly, and sees her standing on the front step.

"Andy," he says, and she's horrified at how upset he sounds. "Can I come in?"

Without a word she shows him in. "Why not go to Cissy or Bella?" she asks, not to be antagonistic, but because she's genuinely curious.

"Because of what I'm going to do." He leaves it like that, and she realizes how little he's changed from the old Reg, the one that would say his statements just like this, sentences that don't really tell the other anything but are meant just to get attention.

"Which is?" she prompts. Normally she would have smiled, but she's far too worried to even let a trace of a smile on her face.

"I'm not going to explain it, Andy, so please don't ask me to. It'll put you in far too much danger, even if you only just know about it. But I am going to work against the Dark Lord…and I will do it intentionally. You and Sirius were right, Andy, his ideas are completely insane. I'm so sorry for not seeing it before."

She nods, noticing how hard it is for him to speak. "I'm so proud of you, Reg. But please tell me what's wrong…"

"I can't tell you," he says. "It's too closely related to what I am going to do." He sighs, and changes the subject. "I went to see Sirius first, but he wouldn't let me in."

She pats his shoulder, comforting him. "Reg, Sirius loves you. He's just hurt. He's like Bella, he carries grudges."

"I don't think I'll ever see him again," Reg says softly. He pulls himself off the couch that he sank onto, and it seems to take an extreme amount of effort, he seems so scared, so she helps him to his feet. He attempts a brave smile. He doesn't add that this will be the last time he sees her, because she already knows it now. She doesn't know the details but she knows that he won't come out of this alive.

"I'm not going to die now and leave you here with my body, Andy, don't worry."

"You aren't going to die, Reg," she says fiercely. "Not now, not for a long time."

"It'll be worth it," he says, and she raises her eyebrows curiously, about to ask about what he did again, but he shakes his head.

"I just want to tell you, in addition to confirming that you were right about the Dark Lord, how sorry I am that I never contacted you after you married Tonks." His voice is getting softer, and she has to strain to hear him.

"I accept your apology, Reg," she tells him softly. "I've never been angry at you for that."

"And to congratulate you on your marriage, something that I never did. And to tell you that I really, really hope you're happy," he continued. "And to tell you how much I admire you."

"What?"

"For running off like that. For defying everyone. It was easier for Sirius, he's more of a rebel, but I know it was harder for you. But you finally stood up for your beliefs."

"I don't know the full story," she tells him, and she realizes then just how hard she's been crying, "but I think you did, too."

He nods, and opens the door. "Andy, one more thing?"

"Anything," she tells him.

"Please tell your daughter about me."

"I definitely will," she promises. "Oh, Reg…"

He kisses her cheek. "I'm going to do what I have to do."

"I can help," she tells him. "It's suicide, what you're doing."

"You can't help against this, no one can, really," he tells her, his voice weak. "I need to go." She finally nods, accepting it and yet hating how things had turned out, and he nods back. "Good luck, Andy."

She can't say anything, but she embraces him. When she finally lets go, she tries to smile at him as he walks away.

When morning comes and Ted comes down the stairs, all she can do is bury her face in his shoulder and cry.


End file.
